Adjustable passenger safety guard



Jan. l2, 1965 E. H. DALGLExsH 3,165,333

ADJUSTABLE PASSENGER SAFETY GUARD Filed Feb. l2, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 12, 1965 E. H. DALGLEISH ADJUSTABLE PASSENGER SAFETY GUARD Filed Feb. l2, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 V lfv L78 9o` 84 as F75 \72 so a6 24 EARL H. DALGLEISH Arran/verf Vof FIGUnnAz;

United States Patent O 3,165,333 ADUSTABLE PASSENGER SAFETY GUARD Earl H. Dalgieish, 725 Biddesden Place, West Vancouver, British Columbia, (lanzada Fiied Feb. 12, 1963, Ser. No. 257,936 8 Claims. (Cl. 280-15tl) This invention relates to a safety guard adapted to hold a passenger seated in a lvehicle from being Ithrown forwardly when the vehicle comes to an unexpected stop. It is a safety guard especially adaptable for use in automobiles. l .A main object of the inventionis to provide a guard, which is Nsufficiently strong enough not only to restrain a passenger from forward movement, but which will hold a door of the vehicle: to which theinvention may be connected closed in the event of a collision or if the automobile should roll.

A Another object is to provide a safety guard as shown which, is convenient to use and which may be adjusted to passengers of different sizes and which is capable of being released quickly. Many attempts have been made to produce safety guards which will attain all of the above objects, but which have inthe main been unsuccessful. Certain safety guards 'which have been produced, especially those of the strap type, usually lie in heaps on the seat ofthe vehicle or automobile and, therefore', detract from the interior beautification of the automobile. They are veryinconvenient to use as they tend to slide down between the seat and the` seat back. Others of the solid or extensible bar type are usually inconvenient to use and do notprovide utmost passenger safety. v

The present invention seeks to overcome the drawbacks i above by. providing a passenger safety guard of the rigid bar type which, when in its normal Vclosed position, will appear to be nothing more or less than and will serve as an warm rest, andiwhich can be swung into its normal operating position horizontally to theseat without any inconvenience to the passenger. `rThe present invention also provides a safety guard which will also enhance the interior beautification of the automobile.

y The present invention consists of an adjustable passenger safety guard for a vehicle comprising an elongated horizontally disposed housing being adapted to be mounted on an inner sidewall of said vehicle adjacent a seat thereof` in a fore and Vaft position, a'runner in 'said housing longitudinally vslidable therein, means to releasably secure the runner inany, selected ylongitudinal position'in the housing against forwardi'rnovernent relative thereto, a

safety bar pivotally connected at one end to the runner,

said safety bar being adapted to lie in a position parallel to and releasably secured against forward movement above" said seat in anormal open position by a restraining armv which'releasably engages the other end of thersafety bar, and adapted to be swung'forwardly against and parallel to the side wall when not in use, and also includes a door safety means whereby the restraining armrestrainsl thel f companying drawings, in which:

FIGURE l isan isometric view of the inside of anl automobile partially cut away to show the interior thereof, and the safety guard disposed in its normal operating position;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view takenl'along line 2f2 of FIGURE l; e y 'I .e

FIGURE 3 is a sectional View taken along line 3 3 vdoor 14, a seat 16 and seat back 18. As shownlin.

- a slidably snug fit within the housing 24.

,lbSB Fatented Jan. l2, i955 FIGURE 4 is a sectional View taken along line l-fiA Referring to the drawings, 10 generally represents the safety guard device as it would appear in its norrnlal operating position mounted in an automobile 12 having a side FIGURE l, the safety guard device consists essentially of a safety bar 20 hingedly secured at its outer end 22 to a runner 23, contained in an elongated housing 24, the free end 2e of the safety bar Ztl being adapted in its operating position to be restrained from forward movement, as hereinafter described, by a restraining arm 28. u

It will be'noted by referring to FIGURE l, that the housing 24 is mounted in a substantially fore and aft posi-,

tion on the side door 14 of the automobile and slightlyV above the seat 16 thereof, preferably by welding to the door 14. VThe housing is preferably constructed of steel for strength and opens outwardly on one side into the body of the automobile 12, said open side being covered with a cover plate 30, said cover plate havinga longitudinally disposed slot 31 formed therein. Y

The runner 23 which is also preferably constructed ofV metal, for. strength, is suitably dimensioned so that it has By referring to FIGURE'Z and FIGURE 3, it will be seen that the runner is constructed in the form of a clevis having spaced upper and lower legs 32 and 3X6 respectively, spaced apart by a base 35. The outer end 22 of the safety bar Ztl has an eye 37 in said `outer end and is pivotally connected to the runner 23 by a pin 39 passing through the upper and lower legsSZ and 33 respectively, and through the eye 37, the pivotal connection permitting the safety bar 2) to be swung forwardly to a position parallel with the side door 14 of the automobile and to be swung outwardly and away from said side door to a position parallel to and above the yseat 16.

' 18 as desired.

In the preferred form that portion of the safety. bar 2),y

- outwardly of the housing 24 is an angular member having a vertical leg d@ and a horizontal leg d1. A knob projection i2 having a shank 43 and a knob 44 is suitably secured to or formed on the said horizontal leg a-t the free end 26 of the safety bar. The horizontal leg 41 is adapted when the. safety bar is swung inwardly to a position parallel with the side door, to lie above the housing 24, the vertical leg ttl lying ush against the coverplate 3i). The bar is releasablysecured in this position and against fore and aftmovement by the shank 43 of the knob, projection 42 being held between a pair of spaced upwardly projecting lugs 45 secured to the top of the housing 2d at the forward end thereof.

' In order to selectively secure -'the runnerfZ against forward movement relative the housing, a wedging block 46 having a wedging tongued/ is positioned in the housing 24'forwardly ofthe runner 23,'fthe wedging tongue being' adapted to coact with the forward face i8 of the runner 23, which has been suitably shaped, to thereby jam thel runner within the housing to thereby restrainrforward The wedging block 46 which is also snugly slidable within the housing has a shaft 49ersuitfably connected thereto and protruding outwardly of the slot` 41 in desired position in the housingvl-e.

slots d1 in side 5S.V l

.s the cover, plate A35i). :A small handle-Sil', which in `this particular form oi the invention is a small chrome covered ,l

knob having a threaded recess, isy secured to ltheV protrudingthreaded end of dle'shaftdf and provides a means whereby'the wedging block 46 may be positioned in any Ther restraining yarm 23 to which, as has* lbeen hereinbefore described, the free end 26 of the safety b ar is secured, is disposed in a foreandj aftdirection above .theV

seat 15 and substantially centrally thereof. In many auto mobiles the restraining arm may bekmounted so that it i is iixed, however, it may also be hingedly mounted to 4perrnit'it'to be swung upwardly :from the seat and backwardly against the seat'baclrwhen not in use. In the preferred form, being shown in'liIGdJRESJL and 4, in Iwhich the arm is xedly mounted, the armisra box memfber having -a forwardly opening end. 51 and havingfa the opposite sides 54 'and 55 respectively, and extend.

' downwardly and `forwardly `from main slots 56 and 57,

respectively. n

The restraining arm as described isV designedlto serve as la restraining Vmeans for"VV the free end 2,6 ,ofther 'safety barze and as a'means to restrain av similar-safety bar, a fragmentary portion of whichis shown in kFIGURE lV and numbered 62 which is mounted on the opposite side ofi; the automobile from'salfety bar 24h-'the freeqend 263 y of safety bar 2@ being restrained'by branch slots. 6@ in' side :59 and the safety bar 62 being restrained bybranch In operation, Vthe describedjrsa'fety guard device is eX- .tremely convenient to use and very easy to operate as it does not require a passenger tomove his position or tol open I'the door of' the automobile in orderto either set the 'bar rinasafety position orto return it to the side Vor the automobile. By referring to FIGURES 1, 2 Vand 3,-"` t y l it will 4bevseen that when Vthe safety Ibar ZG yisfdisposed d ina position parallel of the side door e of the automof Y restraining arr-m, and then insertedfinto anydesired branch slot 66.1 ;I-t.will be noted kby freferring .toFlGURE3,

. bile, its outer end22 lies in a rearmost part ofthe house" ing 24. The-passenger therefore simply has `tofswing the n freefend Edoutwa'rdly away from; the side ldoor 14 and i move' thevrunner. 'forwardly'in the housing 24. VVThe knobbedjprojection 4210i the yfree'end of the 'safety bar ff Y y. visnthen'drawn baclewardly through. main (slot 51tr-,inthev that the I,shank "e3l of the' knobbed projection jts snuglyf 'Y withinwthe branch slot 60, the ykno'bfid engagingy theyinv ner sideof theopposing sidefi of the restrainingVV arm 2S,- Qthereby preventing lateral movement of thef safetyarm 2i) relative to' said restraining arm, The -wedgingfblock .45 may then be forced againsttherunner, Ythewed'gilig tongue 447 jamming the runne'rrthereby securing it against forward movementz"V Whenikit"isdesiredA to vreturn the safety `bar 20 to thejsidefld of'theautomobile, the .fore- Y going Vprocedure is simplyzreversed. '.As clearly illustratedV in FIGURES 3 4 and 5., theifsatety bar 2d in its engaged- 'v position with "theV IrestrainingWarinlnot only' serves topre'-` vent a passenger Vfrom ybeing thrown forwardly; if the'v automobile should come to a suddenfst'op, butwill fprel ventrtherdoor le 'opening youtwardly due to -the engage-v ;ment of the Vlrnob 'dvvitli the side 54 ofl the restrainingfarmandfwill also serve as an yadditional stiener fo'rthe ."door prevent-ingit from being forced inwardly. It is preferred that the safety ybar'rfand restraining r:arm be. suitV ably padded with :a vresilientV shock` absorbing materiaL such as rubber or foam plastid-.to thereby decreasetliev t ,chance of passenger injury and to serve ascomfortablc v varmrests;` n* 'W j FIGURESMS and 7; illustrate analternate means of,

l L Al. yAn adjustable :passenger vsafety guard Y in said open i'ztositioxi.ly

selectively securing the outer?V end 22" ofthe safety -bar '29 ,in the housing.. In this embodiment, a ratchet rack 69, 'having upwardly projecting teeth 70, is secured at its innerrend 71 at the housing/72 on. a lower'surfac'e 73 thereof by'i-ts outer endffiAV projecting outwardly through an aperture 76"in the',V forepa'rt of thehousing 2.4.v A spring 78 is mounted inthe housing ybetween the ratchet rack 69 andfsaid lower surface .'73 of the housing near the aperture 68,- said spring 'I'Snormally'v iug'ingithel outer;

end 74 of the said :rack upwardly. VVIn this example, a

y runner Si) isV provided with a longitudinal slotSS-iormed in' a lower face 84, said slot Vbeing in alignment with and f slightly wider than the ratchet rack 695 and running forwardly'fro'm the-after end do ofthefrunnerrto 'butnot through Vthe front' face; 38 thereof, thereby'. forming a downwardly projecting lug 9%. It will/be seen byrrefer-V l.

ring to FIGURE 6, that when the ratchetnrack,69gy lies i in its normally urged upward position, theratchet-'teeth t n 7i) ywill engage thelug 90, vtherebyirestraining the runner Whom forward movement 'relative to the rack. When the outer endl '74 ofthe rackrvis depressed, therattchet teethA i will disengage `fromthelug90,thus permitting i the/runner lSil torbe selectively positionedratfany -point in the housing. *Y When the outerend 74' isfreleased, the ratchetl rack 691Will return to its'norma'l upwardposif tion again,-locking Vthefrunnernii against forwardniove- Although* the Vforegoing'descriptioniprovidesrforV the ratchet rack' jbeing yrno'untedtto act upwardly ofthe housing `mit is not the intention to 'limit it t'othis'posi-Y Y tion ory it'V may be mountedV on thejside orgtop,of said l husing. i 'Y The vforegoing illustrates 'onlytwoimethods',whereby therunner vmay jbe selectively/positioned longitudinally j kbetween 'thehousing Howeven-lit isfapparentithat .many` devices maybe' used for this' purpose, :the twof forms de-1, scribed, however, :are easyvto operate: and 'may be inert-jjk 2 pensively manufactured andinstalled."A Y

WhatI claim asfmyinventionisz Y comprising an `elongatedhorizontally.QdisposedV housing being adapted to be. mountedonaninner side-wall 'of .saidV vehicle adjacent'a ,seat thereof in Vagfore and aft'position, avrrunner. inV thehousing-longitudinally -slidable'V v therein and having arwe'dging lface, a wedgin'gbloclg` slid-V Yably mounted inV the'housing forwardiyiof the runner havijing awedge-shaped afterffface adapted to coact'v'vith.theV Vrvr/edging face oft-he runner,"thereby;securingsaid runner against forward lmor/ementrelative to ,the-housing, a safeety barpivotally connected'at one end'to'V the runner, said VVsafetywbrar `being' adapted tol lie` iria .position parall'elrto and above thelseat in anormal open lposition'and-being adapted to be-.swungtorwardly against andrparallel 'tok 1 `the side wall when not in use.'' Y Y l-, l V;-

K n y2. An adjustablejpassengerwsafetyguard Vas' claimed in fclairn v1 includingffrestraining meanseatjrthe.fotherend'of fthe Ysafety bar adapted to, releasably secureYK saldi safety bar 3;.An adjustable` passenger safety: guard I a, .vehicle GO'. comprising in combination Vvan jelongatedzlio'rizontally disw posed'housing' being Vadaptedy to 4'bernounted on an yinner Y `side wall ,sofa door 'of said Vvehicle. adjacent aseat thereof.

inv a dore andiaftJpositionfa'runnerinV thehousing longi-V tudinally slidable'thereto,imeanstof'releasably secure the 'runner ingany selected longitudinal position inlthefhousV-f.V 'ing against, forward movement: relative VtheretojaV safety ibarupivotallyconnectedlat one'end `to therunner-,Qsaid ,l rsafety barbeing adapted'etorliegin a positionparallel and Y above the seat in avnormalopen position and being adapt-` forwardly angled'V interconnected l'branch Y'slots formed in a vertical,faceithereto,.` secured in afore and aft positiony parallel/toand above thefseat, the" other'end ofthe V safety for` a vehicle bar being slidably engageable Iwith all of said branch slots whereby said other end of the safety bar is restrained from forward and upward movement, a door safety means 'on the said other end of the safety bar adapted to releasably engage the restraining arm thereby restraining said safety bar against movement in a direction normal tothe side wall of the vehicle.

4. An adjustable passenger safety guard as claimed in claim r3 in which the restraining arm is hngedly secured to the vehicle, thereby permitting said restraining arm to be swung upwardly in relation to the seat and substantially normal thereto .when not in use.

5. An adjustable passenger safety guard for a vehicle comprising in com-bination an elongated horizontally disposed housing adapted to be mounted on an inner side wall of a door of said vehicle adjacent a seat thereof in a fore and aft position, said housing having a longitudinal slot formed in an inner face thereof, a safety bar adapted to lie in a position horizontally parallel to and above said seat, a runner having a wedging face in the housing longitudinally slidable therein, said runner having a forward face, pivotal means carried by said runner outwardly of the housing through the slot pivotally connecting one end of the safety bar to the runner, thereby permitting said safety fbar `to be swung forwardly from said position horizontally parallel to and above the sea-t to a Vfore and aft position adjacent the housing, a wedging fblock in the housing and longitudinally slidable therein forwardly of said runner, having a wedge-shaped face adapted to coact with lthe Wedging face of the runner, thereby wedging the runner in the housing against forward movement relative thereto, operating means carried by the wedging block outwardly of the housing operable to selectively position said wedging block in said housing, a restraining arm being adapted to be secured in a fore and aft position inwardly of the housing, means formed in the restraining arm adapted to releasably engage the said other end of said safety bar, thereby securing the safety bar fin said position parallel to the seat, and a door safety means on the said other end of the safety bar adapted to releasably engage the restraining a-rrn thereby restraining said safety bar against movement in a direction normal to the side wall of the vehicle,

wall of a door `of said vehicle adjacent a seat thereof in a fore and aft position, a runner mounted in the housing longitudinally slidable therein, said runner having a longitudinally disposed slot in one face, a lug secured to the runner in said slot transversely disposed thereto, an elongated ratchet rack secured in the housing and disposed in alignment with the slot and adjacent the lug, resilient means normally urging the ratchet rack into engagement with the lug to restrain forward movement of the runner, means to release the `ratchet rack from engagement with the lug, thereby permitting selective positioning of the runner relative the housing, a safety bar pivotally connected at one end to the runner, said safety bar being adapted to lie in a position parallel and above said seat :in a normal open position and being adapted to :be swung outwardly against said housing in a fore and aft position when not in use, the other end of said bar being forwardly of said one end, a restraining arm secured in a fore and aft position inwardly Iof the housing, means formed in the restraining arm to releasably engage the other end of the safety bar, thereby securing said safetybar in said position parallel to the seat, a door safety means on said other end of the safety bal' adapted to lreleasably engage the restraining arm thereby restraining said safety ibar against movement in a vdirection normal to the side wall of the vehicle.

References Cited in the lile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 296,975 Lampton Apr. 15, 1884 2,755,101 Budde July 17, 1956 2,805,081 Frimet Sept. 3, 1957 2,833,554 Ricordi May 6, 1958 

1. AN ADJUSTABLE PASSENGER SAFETY GUARD FOR A VEHICLE COMPRISING AN ELONGATED HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED HOUSING BEING ADAPTED TO BE MOUNTED ON AN INNER SIDE WALL OF SAID VEHICLE ADJACENT A SEAT THEREOF IN A FORCE AND AFT POSITION, A RUNNER IN THE HOUSING LONGITUDINALLY SLIDABLE THEREIN AND HAVING A WEDGING FACE, A WEDGING BLOCK SLIDABLY MOUNTED IN THE HOUSING FORWARDLY TO THE RUNNER HAVING A WEDGE-SHAPED AFTER FACE ADAPTED TO COACT WITH THE WEDGING FACE OF THE RUNNER, THEREBY SECURING SAID RUNNER AGAINST FORWARD MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO THE HOUSING, A SAFE- 